Suns' Barbosa to miss 1 to 3 weeks

Suns guard Leandro Barbosa will be out of game action one to three weeks after suffering a bone contusion in his left knee during Wednesday's win against Philadelphia.

Barbosa hyperextended his left knee inward when his leg planted as he ran past the basket and looked back at his layup that was blocked. Barbosa left the game. His X-ray was negative.

Suns head athletic trainer Aaron Nelson said a Thursday MRI exam showed Barbosa's knee did not have ligament damage but had a bone contusion on the top of his left tibia, where the femur hit upon hyperextension. Nelson said a straight-in hyperextension reduced the chance of ligament damage and that his extra step before planting kept his full weight off the hyperextension.

Barbosa can do non-impact workouts for the next week. In a best-case scenario, he could play next Thursday at Portland. If he needs three weeks, he would miss 10 of the final 14 games.

"Anything that will cause the bone to get more action could cause more pain," Nelson said. "We've got to let that calm down."

Barbosa was averaging 19.1 points and 3.7 assists since interim coach Alvin Gentry took over Feb. 16 - until Wednesday's appearance lasted two minutes. He averaged 12.8 points and 2.0 assists before the break on four fewer shots per game.

Jason Richardson scored all 25 of his points Wednesday after Barbosa went out. Alando Tucker and Grant Hill also spent time at shooting guard.